...and so it came to an end.

Sadly, I have to report that I left the train2game course. I am not allowed to divulge the termination conditions of the contract, but I can give you facts and an honest account of why I left.

I do believe in honesty and you cannot be held accountable for being honest. Remember that.

So, as it turned out, things went downhill with the course. The qualifications that you could earn at the end of the course had changed, without notice. The price stayed at the same rate, despite you receiving half of the qualifications promised and sold to you at the beginning of the course which nulled the contract as it became mis sold. I signed up to receive TWO industry qualifications, One being from TIGA the huge representation company of the games industry in the U.K. and the other being a standard city and guilds qualification.
I signed up because I wanted that TIGA qualification as I felt that it carried more weight within the industry than a city and guilds certificate. Unfortunately, TIGA pulled out of its partnership with train2game, meaning that qualification was no longer obtainable. This worried me as there wasn't an explanation as to why a huge heavyweight like TIGA no longer believed in this partnership. What had happened to make them end so abruptly? An answer I sadly do not have as I was never given a reason from my tutors on the course.
I did research on the cost of a city & guilds qualification, and it is a fraction of the cost I was now being charged for the course I was on without TIGA. As aforementioned, the cost of the course didnt alter despite only receiving 50% of what I signed up for.


After a fight and lots of legal advice from solicitors and citizens advice, I managed to get out of the contract.

I lost a lot of money, but more importantly, I lost a dream.

It took me months to recover from this. It was a hard fact facing up that your last shot at shooting for the stars was done and you'd missed. Barely leaving earths orbit. Hence, being months and months since my last post.

Anyway, again, I don't know if people read this, but when I first started to look into the legitimacy of the course, there was next to no info, so at least I have left something for someone if they need a true honest account of the company. I have wrote without anger or spite, in order to give an accurate account.

What it is exactly you pay for...

So as promised a few weeks back, I said I'd look into what it was you actually pay for as there was no game jams or anything like what the salesperson/ had mentioned, upon starting. I contacted the tutors and asked the following:

"I've been doing this course for a little while now and I'm struggling to see what the high monthly cost is going on. The lessons with construct 2 are available without being on the train 2 game course, along with the lesson assets. They are available for free on the construct website. The booklets aren't surely worth over £130, and there have been no meets or game jams or anything that the salesperson said takes place. I have barely used the tutor help because its just not necessary, so cant be going on that. Am I just paying for the city and guilds qualification at the end? I really don't understand why its so expensive. Don't get me wrong I am enjoying the course and happy to be paying for it, like I said, I just don't see what my money is going on."

Now they did take a couple of days to get back to me on it, but at least they did. Now the response wasn't really what I was looking for, and didn't help that much, but they do state that they are the tutor team and don't actually have the breakdown of what costs what. The events they hold are held every 18 months or so, the last being at eurogamer. They state that the money goes on the qualification itself, as a university course would cost around the same if not a little more, only with train 2 game, its done at your own pace. Other costs include materials...not sure what they are? possibly the booklets, and licenses to programs needed. They also mention that money goes on tutor support, which is something I touched upon in the previous blog. When I first started out, I did say that you'll use the tutor support a lot, however, as the days ticked by, you don't actually need them that much, its just the initial getting started that you turn to them, because its all a little vague when you begin. You're sort of just given a sign in, you have your books and thats it. Anyway, I still stand by that it is legitimate and hopefully these blogs have helped you make your own mind up. As always, if you have any questions then don't hesitate to ask, as for blogging, I will return in a few months with an update. For the foreseeable, I don't really see much changing until I finish a module, so won't have any new info to share. That said if anything changes, you'll here about it.

Again, Its been a while..

My apologies for taking a while to get something wrote out to you. My course has gathered some momentum over the last week or so. I completed my first module, scoring 100% yet again. Now, what happens after you finish a module, you are automatically sent the next coursework booklets, which I have to say, came really quickly. I received module D2 and module D3 in one go as module D2 is all about reading and really getting to grips with different games and genres. There is a LOT of gaming you need to do, and while this sounds like pure heaven, you're actually required to play games you don't like. And trust me, you're going to want to. Heres why. You are to analyse a game, and answer some various questions about it, like am I having fun? Why? What would I change? Why? and to properly analyse the game. Analyse its mechanics, write about them, analyse the controls, enemies, graphics, layers, art, animation, pretty much everything. Now, if you do this with a game you like, your going to ruin your game. Without a shadow of a doubt. I recently bought little big planet 3, and i'm a fan of the lbp series. So having a brand new game to try and having this coursework to do, I thought I could kill 2 birds with 1 stone. What actually happened was I was picking faults with things. Little things. I wanted to change parts and couldn't, which began to irritate me. Eventually, I started to question why I was playing the game. I read further into the coursework book and it had an interesting section and its to study what makes people enjoy a particular genre. I decided to get into the student forum (A forum full of fellow students, which literally has someone writing or answering 24/7) and start asking questions and asking for recommendations. I had responses and was given some excellent advice. This got me into a better frame of mind and decided that I'd play games that normally I'd avoid like the plague. Play things that are well out of my comfort zone and analyse that. If I ruin the experience by analysing then so be it. If I still don't like the genre then thats ok too.
Now, onto something rather less positive. I am yet to fully see what the £130 pm price tag is for. Yes im receiving booklets, and theres forums to be a part of, but that is rather expensive for that. Theres a tutor on call pretty much constantly to help you, but if you really want to be in the games industry, the chances are you'll understand how the process works, so you'll rarely use the tutors as the majority of what you'll do is pretty much common sense, plus the booklets give you most of the answers that you'll be looking for. I guess it probably all goes towards keeping the site maintained and advertising and keeping in the loop with the industry, but I'm yet to be invited to a meet, or a game jam, or anything like what the salesman mentioned during the interview process. There are students asking about them, but there doesn't seem to be much response. Now this is a little concerning for me and will strive to pursue the topic and get some solid proper information out for you all.

So, whats been going on?

Its been a few days since I last wrote the blog about train to game. Theres a lot of questionable debates over the legitimacy of train2game, and this is why I started to do this blog, just so there was some honest and reliable information on the web, because its few and far between.
So anyway, so far, I've been given a LOT of tutor help, which means there is someone there all the time willing to answer any concerns you have, or any help you require, I've received full programs with serial keys to unlock a personal licence for a program worth around £70, and all the tuition that is downloadable. It seems 100% legit to me, but that isn't going to stop me as previously mentioned, things can change, but for now, its legit. I don't really see it changing to be honest.
There are many many other students that are available to talk to that all have their own little problems when doing the courses, they get stuck and blog and post in forums asking for advice, and they have been going on into the latter stages of the courses, and they seem quite content, and have no claims of any wrong doing.

Now, what 'i've been doing is being taught how to build a game from scratch, and I'm pleased to report I have now made 2 full working games.  A little UFO in space that collided with asteroids, and a 2D side scrolling platformer. I received some lesson files to incorporate with the text lesson, and was given a step by step on how to create the games. I've also sat 2 small exams and passed both, 1 at 90% and the other at 100% so I can honestly say, the rep that came to interview me knew what he was talking about as I went into this wanting to be an artist, he said he saw me as a designer, and I have to say, the course is right up my street.,

I have to say, even though the interview, mainly the second one, is a little tense and off putting, I think that may be down to the fact that you WILL have to part with some cash on the day or a bank transfer, and its all a little informal to be honest, but I think thats because of the monumental fees involved. I am yet to find anything that isn't true from what the rep said in the interview.
So in short, try to relax, and not worry about how awful the atmosphere was when the rep was there, or any awful after taste feelings you may have.
Its also a little off putting that you can't get into any of the train2games website without actually being a student, leaving many to question what it is they are hiding. The short answer to that is nothing. To further answer that though is because if it was open to the public, nobody would pay. The courses would be open and free for anyone to download and go through. Think of it as being a part of an exclusive club. Universities don't have their lessons online for anyone to just go and read through and download and complete, its no different here really and why should it be? You have to pay for uni, you have to pay for this, you unfortunately have to pay for tuition in most walks of life. Even certain college courses now cost money.
If any of you though have any questions from anything you feel I haven't covered, I'll be more than happy to answer them for you, and try and help you calm any feelings or nervousness you may have about the whole process.
So until next time internetters :D

So far So good

So its all going as planned really. The true test will come in the following months when the modules get completed. Ive just this minute finished whats called a 'TMA' which stands for 'tutor marked assessments'. What this entails of is a variety of questions with a multi choice answer box, which was fairly easy. It was mainly to see if I understood the abbreviations and lingo in the games industry, which most of it is in the back of your welcome pack booklet. There was also a downloadable lesson which taught me how to build a basic game using construct, which they gave me a full persoanl use copy for free. Well, when I say free its probably in with the cost of the course. Anyway, I managed to create a little flying saucer game with animations and sound effects and has really helped better understand how a game is made. I've had to contact tutor support once or twice as part of building a game design document, and have always had an answer from my tutor fairly quickly, and the student forum always has little messages from other people starting out or fairly far on in their lessons. It seems like a busy little place, too much to be a scam really. Anyway, I am really getting a lot out of this, which by no means means i'll stop blogging and keeping up to date with whats going on, who knows whats around the corner, but for the time being, all seems fair in love and war.

The investigation

So, the investigation began. I checked on google for train2game to see if it was a scam or if it was a legitimate company. To my horror I found ALOT of people talking about a company called career finance 4 trade skills ltd. Under this name is where all the trouble started. People complaining to the BBC watchdog about them. If you look at dates though, you can see the majority of them are from a few years ago and this was when train2game was just starting out and didn't really know what they were doing by all accounts. Then I found another blog that was someone doing an investigation, but they went quiet after they received their login details from train to game, which actually lead me into doing this blog. I decided people needed to research and find some good solid conclusions. Thats not to say this other blogger didn't because they were extremely helpful in what they posted and allowed me to gather some facts. Anything could have happened to them. They could have forgot, or had a family, changed their online persona, anything...
Anyway, the representative of train2game who interviewed me made some sensational claims, like they offer city and guilds and a equivalent to a diploma which was recognized by 'TIGA' (The independent games association). He also said that they have a partner ship with Microsoft and they have famous and biggest names in games designing, one of which was peter molyneux. (you know that dude who brought us fable, and promised us Milo?) well, him.
I decided to check out the Microsoft representative that they claim they work with, doing a 'game jam'. I cant for the life of me remember the representatives name, however, it turned out to be legitimate. By now I was starting to feel a little better about the situation. It turns out as well, that the game jam they did was widely covered by the media, more notably the BBC. The very same BBC that watchdog is associated with.
Now what I believe has happened in the past for these claims of 'scam' have come from is from train2games early days where they didn't really know what they were doing. I have checked city and guilds, trading standards, and they are actually legitimate.
I received my own login details yesterday, and all of what the representative had said was true, it was just executed badly. They are salesmen though, they're selling you a course, which is pretty expensive, £35 a week, however, you do get 7 or 8 programs and serial keys which gives you the full program. You also get 24 hour tutor support and access to alot of content. I will come back and blog once I have explored a little further and keep you all updated to see if it continues to be as they say it is :)

After the interview process

So the basic story is, I saw an advert on facebook, offering the chance to become a video game designer. Obviously, being a gamer, this sounded like pure heaven. I filled out an online form and waited. Waited so long (9 months) to hear back that I had completely forgot about ever filling out the form. Anyways, I got a call out of the blue from the Train2Game team asking for some info and was I still interested. I told them a little about why I wanted to be in the games industry and was offered an interview, in which they would send someone to me for this.

I had said interview and it lasted about 2 hours. Which at the time, the interviewer said that he had a 'good feeling' about me and I was perfect. He also said he doesnt normally spend 2 hours around someones house. (This I have found to be untrue, the process takes 2 hours with each individual). Anyway, he said he'd go away and think about the decision and arranged a second interview to let me know the outcome. A couple of days later, we had the second interview and he offered me a place.
Now, where it all turns a little funny for people is, this 2nd interview. Its a little tense and I have researched the internet high and wide to gather peoples views and opinions on the matter and they all said the same things. Once your signed up you get onto the matter of the fees. They apparently have to get funding for you which is a 10 minute phone call, even with poor credit they'll go ahead. I have appalling credit and theyve allowed me to join up. The thing is though, you have to pay a fee either in cash there and then, or a card payment. Theres no mention of this before or during ANY of the process, from the initial form filling, the phone call, the first interview, nothing. No where does it state this. I had to pony up £50 cash which luckily I had on me, which was meant to be for a game. Other people have paid £100, it depends on the company that agrees to fund you. They'll pay most of it and you pay the difference less of what they pay.
Once its all done your given a case filled with booklets and DVD's and if your anything like everyone else that got accepted you'll be excited as hell and can't wait to get started. There is however a stumbling block. You need your login details which take 10-14 days. If you havent heard from them within that time scale your meant to get in touch.
Now. It was only after the 2nd interview did I start questioning some things. It occured to me that this was done via FACEBOOK, which lets be honest is filled with 90% bull shhhh, and the other 10% is lies. These people could be anyone and I've just handed over £50! I decided to investigate...